I shared my phone number. I learned I shouldn't have. [telecom]

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Our personal tech columnist asked security researchers what they could find out about him from just his cellphone number. Quite a lot, it turns out.

By Brian X. Chen

For most of our lives, we have been conditioned to share a piece of personal information without a moment's hesitation: our phone number.

We punch in our digits at the grocery store to get a member discount or at the pharmacy to pick up medication. When we sign up to use apps and websites, they often ask for our phone number to verify our identity.